DG Murray Verso-- Club Visit
Murray and Irene Verso visited the club as part of the District Governor’s annual visit to each club. Murray is a member of the Rotary Club of Willamstown and has so far visited 34 clubs in his role as DG.
Murray spoke of the “Light Up Rotary” theme for this year. He explained that the current Rotary International President, Gary Huang from Taiwan, is the first ethnic Chinese to take this position. He took the theme from the Chinese proverb “Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness”.
Murray spoke about the role of the Rotary Club of Carlton at District level, where several members have had important roles, including two past DGs.
His impression of the Club is that it is a “can do” club which is happy, well organized and engaged with the local community. He noted the challenges for a club of 37 members which meets at lunch time, which can be a difficult time for people to get to meetings. He spoke positively about a range of Club achievements, including the excellent website, leadership awards, involvement in local schools, involvement with disadvantaged members of the community, the projects in Cambodia and Afghanistan, and the success with breathometers. He hoped the club might get involved in a group study exchange program.
Murray spoke about what Rotary means to him. He asked members to consider what Rotary means to them and to transmit their passion for Rotary to the outside world. Positive experiences for Murray have included: being able to have friendly interactions with diverse people from many countries at the Rotary International Assembly; hosting of international exchange students and the lasting friendships that resulted; raising funds for a defibrillator for a child with a heart condition; supporting a teenager at risk of getting into trouble with the law to walk the Kokoda Trail and him ending up becoming a police officer; Group Study Exchange to India where he saw the work that Rotary is doing in restoring sight and providing public toilets in villages; and being generously hosted at an Anzac Day ceremony by Rotarians from Turkey—the country Australia invaded. Murray also mentioned the role of Rotary in the campaign to eradicate polio and the progress that had been made, including its eradication from India.
Murray ended by quoting Indira Gandhi: “The world is divided into two groups: those who do the work and those who take the credit. It is better to be in the first group because there are fewer people there.”